Burden of Proof
by dino-dog83
Summary: Missing Scene from 7x02 Proof; JJ is understandably upset after her arugument with Reid, can Will and Emily help her through it? Read to find out.


**Missing Scene from 7x02 "Proof"; Takes place after the BAU jet lands (before they go to Rossi's for cooking lessons**)

She'd slept on the jet most of the way back from Oklahoma and now she wasn't tired and that was the problem. She wasn't tired and she was still upset about the events that had taken place earlier that day. And that's how she found herself sitting in a small pub drinking her 9th pint of beer.

Drinking away her problems wasn't JJ's style but the last few weeks, if not months, had been a whirl wind of emotions. Reid, Spencer Reid, her Spence had been so angry with her about the cover up of Prentiss' supposed death that he'd gone out of his way to avoid her, that was until she confronted him. Then his anger towards her had been unleashed. But he had the right to be angry and she couldn't really blame him for the way he felt.

Looking down at her watch she decided it was time to head home for the night. If she were to be honest with herself that was probably another reason she found herself in a pub tonight instead of going straight home. Will had also been angry about the lies she had told. Though he wasn't as close to Emily as the rest of the team she knew he felt her betrayal the same as the others.

Getting out of the cab at her front door she tried with all her might to be quiet so as not to wake her fiancé and son, though the amount of alcohol in her system was making it difficult to maintain any level of grace. As stumbled through the entrance way and headed for the kitchen a voice from behind her caught her attention.

"I thought you were coming home hours ago?" Will asked from the living room couch with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Made a stop." Was all she said not bothering to turn and look at him.

"Why didn't you call?" He stood and began to make his way towards her.

"I'm a big girl." Again her reply was curt.

"JJ, what's going on? You work all these crazy hours and then can't be bothered to call and tell me you're going to be late?" His frustration level was rising in part due to her attitude and short answers.

"Will I can't do this now." She tried to put a firmness in her voice as said it, but it wasn't there.

"JJ look at me." Will all but demanded.

"Why?" She asked her voice starting to falter.

"Jennifer?"

"What Will?!" She turned to face him and anger was now present in her voice but her face told a different story.

"What's wrong?" He asked noticing that her eyes were red and puffy from crying and that she smelt a bit like a brewery.

"I'm fine." She replied looking at the ground. Will quickly forgot his angry and wrapped her in a hug knowing that Jennifer Jareau wouldn't cry unless it was serious. "I…." She tried but didn't know where to start.

"Come on Cher, let's sit down." Will said helping her to the sofa.

"I don't know if I can do this." She said as she lay against him on the couch.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

"Spenc…" She started and then quickly corrected herself. "Reid, he's angry. It's not his fault, he's right." Was all she managed to get out before she started to sob into his arms, the days emotion looking for a release.

JJ had cried for quite sometime before finally succumbing to exhaustion and falling into a restless sleep. Reaching for the blanket on the back of the couch Will gently covered her sleeping form and placed a light kiss on the top of her head. It was only when he had been sure that she was asleep that reached for his phone and carefully moved into another room to make a call.

"Hi, it's me." He said into the phone. "No, it's not ok." He continued. "Can you come over?"

20 minutes later, Will was keeping a watchful eye on the driveway for his expected guest, after all JJ was now sleeping more comfortably and he didn't want the doorbell to wake her. Seeing the familiar sedan pull up, he made his way out to the drive way to greet his friend.

"Emily, thanks for coming." Will said as she got out of the car and made her way towards him. "I didn't know who else to call."

"I'm glad you did. How is she?"

"Asleep." He said not sure how else to describe his fiancé's condition.

"Do you mind if I wait? I don't want to wake her I have a feeling she could use the sleep."

"Sure why don't we talk." She nodded as the two made their way in the house careful not to wake the sleeping blonde. "Coffee?" He asked as they sat at the kitchen table.

"Please." She nodded and watched as he began to make coffee for the two of them. "Will, what happened?"

"I don't know," he sighed and leaned back against the counter. "She called me from Oklahoma, said that ya'll were wrapping things up there and that she'd be home around 9. But she didn't get home until almost 1 this morning. I was angry at first that she hadn't call but then I saw the look on her face." He paused for a moment. "She'd been crying, and drinking."

"That doesn't sound like JJ." Emily cut in.

"I tried to ask her what had happened. She said something about Spencer being angry with her and it being her fault." He looked to her for some sign that she knew what he was talking about. And he wasn't disappointed.

"Will, I'm sorry." The confused look on Will's face didn't go unnoticed by the seasoned profiler, so she continued; "This whole thing, it started with me and Doyle a long time ago and I, I dragged her, everyone into it."

"What's done is done." Will said. "I was angry at first that she didn't tell me. But we worked it out. I just want her to be ok." He sighed watching the woman he loved sleeping on the sofa in the next room. 

"She will be." Emily said moving to stand next to him. "I'll talk to her in the morning." Emily looked at the blonde and couldn't help but noticed that even in sleep her young friend wasn't at peace.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

JJ groaned as she rolled onto her side. It had been a long time since she'd had a headache this bad and she wasn't eager to sit up and make it worse.

"Morning sleepy head." A voice came from behind her.

"Em?" JJ asked.

"Here, drink this." She said handing over a bottle of water and a couple aspirins.

"Thanks." JJ said struggling to sit up as she took the offered items. "What are you doing here?" she asked swallowing the pills and taking a sip of water.

"Will called last night."

"He didn't need to. I'm fine."

"JJ." Emily said knowing that her friend was indeed not fine.

"I shouldn't have pushed him. He has the right to be angry Emily. What I did…"

"We." Emily interrupted.

"What?" JJ asked in confusion.

"What **we** did." Emily corrected.

JJ thought about that statement for a moment before she continued. "Fine, what we did to him, to all of them, it can't be magically undone just because you're back."

"No, it'll take time." Emily agreed. "JJ I'm so sorry, for all of this."

"It's not your fault Em."

Emily nodded her head but didn't really have a reply to that. Wasn't it her fault? She was the one that brought Ian Doyle into their lives. "I should have told the team what was going on from the start."

"Maybe, but you did it to protect them."

"And so did you." She said with a small smile. It was that JJ realized they both carried the same guilt and that in the end they would all be alright because after all they were more than just a team they were a family. Leaning forward JJ embraced her friend in a hug.

As they separated JJ remembered one thing. "Em, where's Will?"

"Oh he took Henry to the park a while ago." She smiled. "We thought you were NEVER going to get up."

"Yeah well I wish I hadn't" JJ replied rubbing her temples as Emily stifled laughter.

"Come on, I'll make you some coffee." Emily said standing up and extending her hand out to pull JJ up off the couch. "It'd be best if you weren't hung over when we get to Rossi's tonight!" she joked and they both laughed their way to the kitchen.

~Fin


End file.
